


Time to Heal

by BarPurple



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Abuse, Assault, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 23:36:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16028351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: Belle's landlord is shy and quiet. Everything his ex-wife is not.





	Time to Heal

Belle slid her heels off as soon as she got through the door of her little flat. She wasn’t usually home this early on a weekday, but the town council had finally approved the budget for an assistant who was closing up today. Danny was a wonderful young man whose passion for books matched her own, and his ability to create craft activities that were way beyond colouring sheets had made him the champion of the world in the eyes of the kids.

As she padded towards the kettle the screech of a car pulling up outside made her wince. A glance out of the window confirmed her suspicions; there parked haphazardly on the curb was an ostentatious red sports car. Milah Jones had arrived and from the sound of the slamming that echoed from the pawnshop downstairs she was in high dudgeon.

Belle gave the kettle a wistful look, she’d been looking forward to a nice cuppa. Instead of tea she turned around and found a pair of more comfortable shoes to slip on.

She’d rented the flat above Gold’s Antiques and Pawn a year ago from Mr Gold himself. He was a quiet man, who had warned her that on occasion there would be noise from his shop. His words of caution hadn’t put her off at all, the shop kept the same business hours as the library and the flat had its own entrance. It was the perfect space for her and Mr Gold proved to be a thoughtful and considerate landlord and neighbour. He always slipped a card in her mailbox to inform her when there would be large delivers arriving at his shop and had apologised with flowers or aromatic candles for any strong smells when he’d been using chemicals in his restoration.

The only time the peace had been disturbed was when the ex-Mrs Gold, now Milah Jones, made an appearance. The first time the screaming had started downstairs Belle had thought someone was breaking into Mr Gold’s shop and had called the police. The aftermath of that incident had been awkward for everyone involved, expect Mrs Jones who was all sweetness and light to the Sheriff while still making snide comments to her ex-husband. Sheriff Graham had calmly made sure Milah had left before giving Mr Gold a questioning look. Gold’s only response had been a tight shake of his head. The silent exchange had troubled Belle.

Mr Gold had apologised profusely for causing her concern. Over a cup of tea, he had briefly explained that Milah was his ex-wife and the divorce had not been amebicide, and sometimes she kicked up a fuss about the custody agreement. With a deep sigh he admitted that her outbursts had become more frequent since their son Bailey had become a teenager.

He hadn’t elaborated further, but Belle got the impression that Bailey was refusing to spend time with his mother. She knew the boy well from his frequent visits to the library, and he never mentioned his mother at all, although she had occasionally heard him complain about ‘having to go away for the weekend’. After hearing first-hand some of the vile things Milah had yelled at Mr Gold she could understand why the sweet-tempered Bailey was reluctant to spend time with her. According to Mr Gold Milah only ever vented her ire at him, and never in front of Bailey, but the boy was smart, he was bound to have picked up on the tension between his parents.

Belle, if she was home, made a point of popping into the shop downstairs each time Milah visited. It infuriated Milah no end, but it brought a small smile to Mr Gold’s face, since Milah would leave quickly after Belle appeared.

She paused with her hand on the handle of the shop door. She couldn’t hear anything, perhaps Milah was here for a sensible discussion this time. A rattling crash from inside changed her mind. She hurried inside and stopped dead in her tracks as she tried to made sense of what she was seeing.

Milah had her back to the door and was pressed up against Gold who was between the counter and his ex-wife. They were moving in a way that suggested an intimate clinch. Belle almost back out of the shop in embarrassment, but then Milah staggered backwards clutching her shoulder.

“How dare you! You hit me!”

Belle blinked unable to believe that the shy Mr Gold had raised a hand to anyone. Gold was clutching his throat, gasping as he edged around the counter, desperately trying to put as much distance between himself and Milah as possible. When he moved his hand from his throat Belle could see the redness of bruises starting to bloom. He reached for the telephone on the counter and Milah lunged forward, screeching at him.

“You haven’t got the balls to report me, and you know it!”

Gold had backed away the instant she had advanced. His hand half extended towards the phone, but then his face crumpled, and he sagged in on himself. Milah snorted in triumph as his hand dropped to his side.

Neither of them had noticed Belle until she spoke into her cell phone; “Sheriff? I need you at the pawnshop immediately. There has been an assault.”

Gold’s head jerked up, his eyes wide with an emotion Belle figured must be fear. He never wanted to press charges against Milah, but this time she’d done more than shout and break his stock.

Milah straightened up and smoothed her hair down; “Looks like your little slut is the one with the balls, Alby,”- she fixed Belle with a sickly-sweet smile, - “Stop pretending. You’ve not called the cops.”

“Yes Sheriff, that is Mrs Jones you can hear.”

Belle had called the Sheriff. She always had her phone in her hand when she came to interrupt Milah, and the Sheriff’s Office was number one on her speed dial. Realising the truth Milah snarled at her and barged past her sending Belle crashing into a display case.

The bell above the door finally stopped rattling and the sudden silence jolted Gold out of his shocked stupor. He hurried across to Miss French who was righting herself after her stumble.

“Are you alright?”

Belle hissed in sympathy at his raspy voice and the nasty marks around his throat.

“I could loan you some make-up, to cover those, so Bailey doesn’t see them.”

To her surprise Gold shook his head; “He’s away at art camp for a week. That’s what she was so upset about because Bae cancelled his weekend with her.”

Gold turned his attention to the window. The Sheriff was just pulling up outside. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself.

“It’s about time I stood up to Milah. I’m going to press charges,” – some of the determination flickered from his face as he glanced at Belle, - “If I may ask you to be a witness?”

Belle smiled and took his hand; “Of course. I’ll be right by your side.”


End file.
